Lanikai wins 11 races to take Macfarlane

By Kyle Galdeira / Special to the Star-Bulletin

Don't blame members of the Lanikai Canoe Club for not sticking around at Waikiki Beach yesterday afternoon to celebrate their fifth consecutive victory of the Oahu Hawaiian Canoe Racing Association season.

After all, many of the Windward residents were focused on making the cross-island trek back to Kailua to catch the annual Fourth of July fireworks display off Flat Island before the victory was declared official.

Lanikai tallied 86 points to claim the 65th annual Walter J. Macfarlane Memorial Canoe Regatta in front of thousands of onlookers who were situated in any vantage point possible, from the beach to hotel bars and balconies near the stretch of sand fronting the Sheraton Moana Surfrider and Outrigger Waikiki on the Beach hotels.

"Mostly we just tried to get as many crews in the race as we could, and then spread people out," said Lanikai coach Dave Smith after his club won 11 of the regatta's 39 races. "With this race, it's fun, but there's a lot of luck involved. It's kind of anybody's race, so to win this one is really nice. There are a lot of good clubs out there right on our heels."

Host club Outrigger -- which had won three of last five holiday affairs -- finished in second place with 75 points. Kailua (58), Hui Nalu (55) and Hui Lanakila (47) rounded out the top five clubs.

FL MORRIS / FMORRIS@STARBULLETIN.COMOutrigger Canoe Club's Gerry DeBenedetti and Tom Arnott and other members of the 55 mixed crew carried their canoe up the beach yesterday after their victory. CLICK FOR LARGE

"We had a great day, and were in contention up toward the end," said Outrigger coach Kehau Kali. "Everybody had a lot of energy and excitement, and we wanted to have a really fun and safe day. This is the fifth regatta of the summer, and we're gearing toward the (league and state) championships; we're getting close."

The results of the races did not count toward regular-season standings because of the extreme challenge created by the course's rugged surf breaks, which often cause canoes to veer off course or flip. In contrast to traditional races where paddling crews race parallel with the shore, the Macfarlane Regatta's course is set up so paddlers must negotiate and use the surf to their advantage. Each club was permitted to use experienced "open" steersman who, regardless of gender or age, could steer the canoe in as many races of their liking to help keep the boats on course in the turbulent surf.

One such steersman was master navigator Nainoa Thompson, who guided Hui Nalu in a handful of races. Thompson was fresh off a five-month journey through the South Pacific, Micronesia and eventually Japan on the double-hulled canoe Hokulea.

"I'm just here to help, and it's funny because I have a lot of experience, but you do get rusty," said Thompson after one of the canoes he guided -- Hui Nalu's Girls 15 crew -- flipped after a wave upended the boat. "I just messed up, but I'm just happy the club's still letting me steer! Just coming off a 25,000-pound canoe (in the Hokulea) to a 400-pounder, I'm just trying to adjust. We tipped over because of me, but it's a lot of fun and just wonderful to be out there."

Despite finishing in fifth place as a club, Hui Lanakila came up big in two of the day's most prestigious races. The club paddled to victory in the 1 1/2-mile senior men's race in 11 minutes, 10.31 seconds, and received the honor of sipping champagne from the Walter Macfarlane Memorial Trophy that was awarded to the winning crew.

"We had a clean path to the quarter-mile mark and took on less water than the other boats (while maneuvering over the waves)," said Raven Aipa, who provided the winning crew with power out of seat three. "It's good that (the wave height) wasn't as big as expected. It was good for the kids earlier in the day, and made it fun for everyone."

The other members of the crew included Manny Kulukulualani, Keone Joao, Mike Hangai, Adam Treinen-Aea and Kaleo Cambra.

The women of Hui Lanakila followed suit, claiming the senior women's race -- also 1 1/2 miles long -- in a time of 11 minutes, 39.68 seconds. Just as their male teammates did minutes before, the victorious crew passed around the Senior Women's Bowl and swigged ice-cold champagne.

"It was so special to us because our men are awesome, and for us to be able to win seniors with the males got us excited," said Jane McKee, who sat in seat three in the winning boat. "It's great for us because we're such a small club, so to be able to compete with clubs like Lanikai and Kailua, it was an honor."